Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: All eyes are on the South Goa constituency as the coastal state of Goa gets ready for the Lok Sabha elections, which are set for May 7. This constituency is known for producing somewhat unexpected results, which keeps both the ruling and opposition camps on tenterhooks.
There are just two Lok Sabha seats in the smallest state in the nation. The South Goa seat has alternately been won by the Congress, the BJP, and regional parties. In contrast, the North Goa seat has been a stronghold of the ruling BJP since 1999 and has been represented by the party’s Shripad Naik for five terms.
Just one of the 20 assembly seats that make up the North Goa constituency is currently held by the Congress, while the other 19 are held by the BJP. The South Goa seat, which has 20 assembly segments and a significant Christian population, has occasionally been won by the BJP and regional parties but has primarily been held by the Congress.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Francisco Sardinha of the Congress defeated BJP’s then-sitting MP Narendra Sawarkar from South Goa. Since Goa was freed from Portuguese rule in 1962, the venerable party has won this seat ten times; the BJP has only won it twice, in 1999 and 2014.
A few regional parties have also won this seat: the United Goans Party in 1967 and 1971, the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) in 1962, and the United Goans Democratic Party in 1996.
The Opposition INDIA bloc is working to keep the Congress seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, while the BJP is trying to take it.
According to the rolls released by the Election Commission of India, Mormugao and Salcete together comprise 3.48 lakh voters and twelve of the twenty assembly segments that comprise the South Goa seat.
Salcete has an electorate of 2.37 lakh people and eight assembly segments: Nuvem, Curtorim, Fatorda, Margao, Benaulim, Navelim, Velim, and Cuncolim.
Once thought of as a Congress stronghold, the taluka has opened up to other political parties in recent times. Three MLAs from the Congress, two from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), one from the BJP, one from the Goa Forward Party, and one independent were elected in the 2022 assembly elections.
With a combined voter strength of just under 2.5 lakh, the five other South Goan talukas—Ponda, Sanguem, Quepem, and Dharbandora—account for eight assembly segments of the South Goa Lok Sabha seat, all of which are dominated by the BJP.
There are about 90,000 voters spread across three of Ponda’s four assembly segments: Ponda, Shiroda, and Marcaim. The North Goa Lok Sabha seat includes the fourth assembly segment of Priol from Ponda taluka.
Sanguem taluka has two assembly seats, and Quepem taluka, with a voter population of about 61,000, has two assembly segments: Quepem and Curchorem.
There is one assembly segment in each of the other three talukas: Sanguem, Dharbandora, and Canancona.
Eduardo Faleiro won five times, Francisco Sardinha, the current Member of Congress, won three, and Churchill Alemao won one. Alemao had previously won the seat once, under the sponsorship of the local United Goans Democratic Party (UGDP).
The only other times the BJP has won the seat were in 1999 under Ramakant Angle’s candidacy and in 2014 under Narendra Sawaikar’s.
